Friday 26 July 2019

Rod Dee Ded, Damansara Uptown (CLOSED)


There is this new Thai restaurant with a whimsical sounding name - Rod Dee Ded, which opened in recent months in Damansara Uptown. This restaurant prides itself with serving premium Thai beef noodles and hot pot.

I have walked past a few times and each time, one of their staff who is posted outside would approach me to come try the food. Since this is primarily a hot pot restaurant, I was not sure if it was suitable for a lone diner like me.


But after reading a few reviews and having an idea of what's on the menu, I decided to pop in to check them out.

It was still early when I visited and I felt a little awkward as most tables were set for larger parties. I did notice two small tables but they was smack in the middle of the floor and facing the entrance. Not so ideal. The server guided me to a bigger table and that's where I sat.


The specialty here is the "shower beef" which is basically thinly sliced beef which you cook at the table by ladling hot broth onto the meat. But I am not going to talk about that. There is already quite a number of reviews on the "shower beef" and I doubt if I would ever get to experience it as my partner does not eat beef and my brother might not be too keen on hot pot.


So for the lone diner, you are not left out because there's lots of other items on the menu for you. I was looking forwards to the beef noodles and I chose the most expensive one with all the works.


I had the original soup with meatball, beef slices, brisket and tendon with Ipoh kuay teow (RM26.80). At the moment there is a promotion where you get a free drink from a selected list on the menu. 

I requested for the Thai iced coffee with no sugar but when the coffee was served it was sweet.


I pointed this out to the server but did not insist on replacing the coffee. Just to let her know that's all. The coffee tasted like local kopi-o to me and I only took a sip or two because I don't like sweet coffee.


My noodles were served in a boat shaped bowl. It looked like quite a generous serving.


OK. So how was it? I liked the beef slices, brisket and especially the very tender tendon. The meatballs were ordinary. For vegetables, there were some kangkong (not visible in my photo) and some of the stems were quite tough (I welcome it as a form of roughage hee..hee...).

The broth I'm afraid was quite bland. I detected ginger and some sort of herbs and that was it. 


So I had to seek some reinforcement in the form of condiments.


This chili dip was quite good. I finished everything in my bowl except for the broth.


Ooops! I spotted a chip on the rim of the bowl. I also spotted something else.


Coconut ice cream! But sadly, the server told me the the ice cream had not arrived yet.


Although I was not moved by the original soup broth, I was willing to come back because I might have caught them on a bad day. Perhaps the broth was not adequately boiled, hence the lack of flavor. Besides I wanted the coconut ice cream hee..hee...

So I came back. 


This time I was attended to by a more competent server who informed me that the coffee was premixed and I could not have it without sugar. The only drink without sugar was the chrysanthemum tea.


I had the same noodle soup but I picked the spicy one. For the noodles I chose Thai kuay teow which is very fine and looked like meehoon.

When it was served, I detected a beefy smell and I was worried if the soup might be too strong. My fears were unfounded. Oh my! What a difference compared to the original soup that I had earlier.


This time the broth was more robust and flavorful (a little sweetish, not overly spicy) and I was relieved. I'm so glad I came back. 


I found one basil leaf in the soup and it would have been even better if there were more. Next time, I must bring along the basil from my garden hee..hee...

I enjoyed the noodles so much that I could have drunk the whole bowl of soup. But no. I had to save space for this ........


The Thailand Coconut Ice Cream (RM12.80). Does this remind you of Sangkaya?


It was very good, very strong coconut flavor and aroma enhanced by a sprinkling of toasted coconut flakes and coconut biscuits. 


Though the texture of the ice cream is not smooth and creamy (it was more like sorbet) I still liked it.

In all honestly, although this second visit was more positive, the beef noodles were not extraordinary. Memorable but not remarkable. But I will return because I love beef noodles and this is about the best that I can get in this area. Besides, the coconut ice cream is something to look forwards to.


Same row as Village Park. Photo taken when they were closed between lunch and dinner.

24 comments:

  1. I liked the look of the beef soup. My man would enjoy it. I seldom take beef noodle or soup.

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    1. It's quite decent I would say. I would visit again when I crave beef noodles.

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  2. For me I prefer clear soup from your 1st visit and I'll add in chili to make the broth more flavourful :P
    From your photo, the Ipoh Koay Teow served was a bit thick, does it?

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    1. I will try doing that next time, and no, the Ipoh Koay Teow was not really thick.

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  3. Me too, I would prefer the clear soup (the spicy one looks overly robust like those pork-based ramen which can be too intensely flavoured for me but I know you like robust flavours). If I'm not mistaken, Thai soup noodles are usually lighter in taste so that you can tweak them up to your liking with the condiments provided. So, I'm thinking you might have eaten this the wrong way since Thai food is all about sweet, sour, salty & spicy. Next time, maybe you can try with all 4 condiments of salty (fish sauce), spicy (chilli flakes or any chilli dip), sour (vinegar or vinegared chilli) and sweet (sprinkling of sugar but I usually omit this coz I don't like sweet) and see if there's any difference (and if you like it better). ^_~

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    1. Ah, I will be sure to try the clear soup and then add on the condiments to my taste. I really didn't know it was supposed to be that way hah..hah..

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  4. Replies
    1. If you pass by Damansara Uptown, perhaps you can drop by top try.

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  5. Oooo...I bet I'd love everything here, drooling over the beef noodles! Oh dear!!! Chipped crockery! My beta noire! Suddenly I am not all that fond of this place anymore.

    My favourite Thai restauarant here closed down, internal problems and the other one in town that was quite good isn't good anymore. The Thai chefs went home, contract expired...and the locals don't cook as well plus I hear they have jacked up the prices. No more Thai for me for a long while, I guess.

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    1. Hopefully a good new Thai restaurant would open near you soon.

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  6. funny name for a restaurant...I missed Thai food!

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    1. I thought the name was strange too hee..hee...

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  7. Same as you, i will feel awkward too when you ate surrounded by many big groups and i am the only loner in the restaurant, so i need to choose a more comfortable seat, not those that are right in the middle. At times i will also point out the errors of the server and not ask for replacement if my orders are served wrongly because i do not want to waste food. The only Thai restaurant in my neighbourhood has closed down or moved away so no more thai food near my house but luckily there are many other thai food outlets in town.

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    1. Oopps! Typo error

      *when i am

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    2. Luckily dining alone in most restaurants is quite comfortable. I often see other ladies dining on their own too.

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  8. I love to eat beef noodle so I will try the one with the spicy broth. I don't like sweet black coffee too. Thanks for trying out this shop. Is the brisket tender? I hope it is cos that way, the beef will be tasty.

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    1. The brisket is very tender. I think you might enjoy this!

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  9. We were talking about where to get good beef noodles in town and how nice if I go hop over to this place to taste the beef noodles and enjoy the ice cream too.

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  10. i've tried the beef noodles here but i haven't tried the coconut ice cream yet - it looks irresistibly cooling and refreshing! :D

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    1. If you ever drop by again, give the coconut ice cream a try. I love it!

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  11. I was cracking my head for so long on trying to determine the meaning of Rod Dee Ded. I know that Dee means Good and Rod pronunciation could be Motorcar which makes no sense.

    Their Koay Teow is very fine like what you ate and their coffee is always sweet & black. The Thais never tell the restaurants to serve coffee without sugar as they are all sweet toothed! Even the pad thai will be served with sugar and the Thai diners would add more sugar & peanuts on it. ~Faints~

    I ate their sangkaya ice cream many times at so many places. They get from same supplier with same recycled coconut shells!! My wife is very paranoid on knowing that many Thai restaurants here recycled the coconut shells including the carved-out pineapple shells to be served for pineapple fried rice. A bit not hygienic as we won't know who spat his sticky saliva inside!!! Do you think they could scrub and wash the coconut shells and carved-out pineapples with soap and water? Muahahahaha

    BTW the real Thai coconut ice cream tastes better, smoother and creamier in Thailand. I know this well as I ate them so often from the age 2 until 18!

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    1. From what I read, it means "delicious". Betul ke?

      Oh, no wonder the coffee can't be done without sugar, then it won't be Thai coffee hee..hee...

      I remember when I had ice cream at Sangkaya, I asked if they wanted to keep the coconut shell but they said to throw it away and I did at the bin in the shop. No I feel suspicious after what you wrote hah..hah..

      The Thai coconut ice cream I had at the Thai Food Fair at Starling was very creamy and smooth.

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